The nonprofit that runs the tent facility for migrant children in Tornillo tells me the government has paid $144 million from June through November to operate the tent facility. I think that's the first time we've gotten some accounting of actual cost. 1/ texasmonthly.com/article/more-m…
The nonprofit, BCFS Health and Human Services of San Antonio, has had a series of contracts with @HHSGov since June, worth up to $450 million or so. But that's a maximum value if Tornillo was at capacity. 2/
Tornillo initially had 400 beds when it opened in June. It expanded to 500 in August, then 3,800 in September under a contract that expires Dec. 31. Current population is around 2,300. 3/
BCFS has said it costs about $775/day to house a child at Tornillo. If the average population stays around 2,300 this month, the December cost will be around $55 million. At full capacity, it would cost more than $90 million a month. 4/
Tornillo's future after Dec. 31 isn't clear. BCFS told me it hasn't yet agreed to an extension, but may have little choice. It owns the infrastructure at Tornillo, and I don't see where HHS can move more than 2,000 kids. Tornillo was set up because HHS was out of beds. 5/
Trump administration is asking for another $190 million for the unaccompanied children program in the ongoing budget debate. $1.3 million was in HS budget approved in September. That they need more money 2 months into the fiscal year is telling. 6/
Administration hasn't said what the additional money is for, but it's almost certainly for what are called "influx shelters," additional beds when the number of migrant kids exceeds the capacity of permanent shelters. There are 2 such shelters - Tornillo and Homestead, Fla. 7/
The administration budget request was based on an assumption that the number of migrant children in custody wouldn't exceed 9,000. That was based on an assumption that a tough border policy would deter children from coming to the US. 14,000 kids are now in custody. 8/
The number of unaccompanied children apprehended at the border in FY18 was higher than prior year, but well below big surges of FY14, FY16. The key reason for the rising numbers of children in custody is that it's taking longer to place them with sponsors, Trump critics say. 9/
Biggest change is a fingerprint requirement for sponsors and other adults in household. Fingerprints are sent to ICE. That has deterred many potential sponsors, leading to children being detained for months. 10/
BCFS, the operator at Tornillo, also ran an influx shelter at Fort Bliss for about 4 months at the end of the Obama administration, during a 2016 surge. That shelter had a capacity of 2,000 but the population was around 500. It closed just before Trump took office. 11/
BCFS also runs a number of permanent shelters for unaccompanied migrant children. I'm not aware of any significant abuse allegations at its facilities, unlike Southwest Key. 12/
Just noticed an error in this tweet. The HHS budget for unaccompanied children was $1.3 BILLION. Excuse my typos.
Tweet number 6 in this thread had a couple typos. The HHS FY19 budget had $1.3 BILLION, not million, for unaccompanied children. Sorry for the typos. 13/
